Citizens' group Save IRV Inc. won an injunction after a judge ruled the Memphis City Council cannot spend $40,000 on a public information campaign to explain to voters the three referendums on the Nov. 6 ballot until after the group's court date.

The lawsuit, memorandum of standing, and the order seeking injunction relief was heard in-chambers by Chancellor Jim Kyle at 4 p.m. on Friday. The group will be back in the courtroom Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

The group filed a lawsuit Friday in Shelby County Chancery Court asking for a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction and permanent injunctive relief.

The lawsuit claimed the council's action violates state law. It also claims that even if it's not a violation of state law, the resolution can't be acted upon until it is approved by Mayor Jim Strickland, who could also veto the measure.

Along with Save IRV, the other named plaintiffs are Erika Sugarmon, John Marek,Sam Goff and Racquel Collins Milinikovich.

Earlier this month Kyle denied an emergency petition to remove the referendums from the ballot because the wording was confusing.

The deadline to submit ballot questions to the Shelby County Election Commission was Aug. 23, and Kyle questioned why the legal challenge wasn't filed earlier.

The council approved the expenditure from its general fund in a 5-3 vote Tuesday.

City Council offices have received hundreds of calls from citizens asking for council input on the three questions, which focus on city runoff procedures and council term limits, said Allan Wade, council attorney.

Councilman Worth Morgan questioned whether the campaign was in the council's best interest, but Councilman Frank Colvett Jr. disagreed, saying he'd gotten a litany of phone calls from people asking what instant runoff voting is.

In a 2008 referendum, more than 70 percent of voters approved instant runoff, which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, deciding the outcomes of certain races instantly and eliminating the need for runoff elections.

On that same ballot, 80 percent of voters approved a referendum that limited the city mayor and council members to two four-year terms.

Both measures were among a string of referendums proposed by the Memphis Charter Commission.

Actress Jennifer Lawrence has released a video criticizing the council for being dishonest.

"Memphis, you're about to get blindsided by your own government," said Lawrence, a board member of RepresentUs, a national anti-corruption advocacy group. "Surprised? You shouldn't be. Ten years ago, voters approved laws that give the people more power over elections, hold politicians accountable, and create term limits. Politicians are sneakily trying to reverse those laws, so they put dishonest questions at the bottom of Memphis ballots. We should protect our elections by saying 'no' to all the questions. Tell the politicians they work for us."